Snowmobile Trip
We spent the last two days at our friends cabin snowmobiling. It was a blast!!
This is the view from the parking lot where we leave from.Packing up! We have to snowmobile about 4 miles in to their cabin, it is the only way to get there in the winter. We had to take all our food and sleeping gear and whatever else we need. They have these awesome sleds to pull everything on.

This is Brax and Burke with Jeff. They had a lot of fun together all weekend.

This is the back side of Timp. The weather was amazing the whole time we were there! Sunny and blue skies. We couldn't have ordered better weather.

This was Brad waiting in the van to head up the mountain. I put my hat on him to keep him warm. I think this is one of my favorite pics from the weekend. Could he be any cuter!

I can not express Ashton's anticipation for this weekend. He has been asking constantly when are we leaving and how many more days till we go. He could not contain his excitement! He finally got to go and ride with Pres. Bratt all the way up the mountain.

This is the sign of a fabulous weekend!

Brax & Burke getting ready to jump off the deck. There wasn't near as much snow as last year, but still enough to jump off the deck.

Ellie contemplating the jump. She of course has no fear and had a ball jumping.

We go over to Silver Lake Reservoir to snowmobile on the frozen lake. It is big, and we spent all afternoon there. We took turns sledding and then riding the snowmobile's.

I love this picture! It is my current favorite!

Me and Brad. He was such a crackup. He would bounce around singing his heart out over the sound of the engine. I loved it!

I took Ash, Ellie and Brad back to the cabin early because they were cold. We transport everyone around on these sleds. It is so much fun!

This is Ellie and Sis. Bratt. Ellie helped with dinner and she was so proud of herself! Dinner was delicious!

Brad was so tired that he fell asleep while he was on a ride. He was totally out. I picked him up and put him on a different snowmobile and he stayed asleep. It was so funny!

The only heat at the cabin is the stove. The older boys would haul up the wood in buckets and Brad so wanted to help. He was so proud of himself that he had carried up this log from the wood house.

I love this shot of Ricky and Ellie.

I'm so bugged that my pictures loaded out of order. This was right before we left the cabin. These are happy kids that had a blast all weekend!

Round 2- Ear Surgery
Well, Ashton had his major reconstructive ear surgery yesterday. It turned out to be a really long day and super long surgery. This is Ash waiting to get changed and go to surgery.
He looked so cute in his hospital jammies! He got to pick a stuffed animal and a toy. When we first got to the hospital there was a Christmas tree with stuffed animals all over it. Ash got to choose one and when we read the tag I got choked up. If said, "Good luck, the Windsor 1st ward YW." I was so grateful to those young women who at some point put this tree together to comfort children. They will never know how much they helped Ash be comfortable. He held it the whole time he was in he hospital and since he has been home. This is one more reason I love the church!

This is after he was done and he was trying to come out of the anisthetic. It is really hard to wake up and so I was trying to calm him down as he was not a happy campler! His surgery was 5 hours long which was two hours longer than we thought it would be. He had to have his ear drum reconstructed and they had to clean out a ton of skin that had grown and developed in his ear and clear back into his skull. Not fun!!

Ash did much better waking up this time than 3 weeks ago when he had his tonsils out. As you can see he is sleeping soundly here. He did so great and I was so proud of him! He has been such a trooper and so good to listen to the doctor's and nurses. He is such a good boy and I couldn't love him any more!

This morning we took of Ashton's bandages and this is what we saw. He has about 10 staples holding his ear on. They had to cut off his ear to get deeper into his ear. He was a little freaked out when he saw the picture, but then he wanted to show it to everyone he could. He definitely has bragging rights. How many 5 year old's do you know that have had their ear cut off and stapled back on?

Christmas Fun At Riverwoods
We went to Riverwoods last week to see the lights and Santa Claus. It was really pretty and a fun environment.This was a big tree made out of light balls. It took me 15 minutes just to get all the kids to stay still long enough to snap this picture. We had just got there and they were so excited to be there. Ash had just had his tonsils out and a tube put in his ear 4 days before so he was wearing my hat for extra ear protection. It is clearly too big, but it kept him warm.

Burke and Ellie waiting to see Santa.

Ellie with Santa. She told me that he is the real Santa because look at him. He just looks so real she told me.

Ashton & Santa

Santa & Bradley

Braxton was a crack up seeing Santa. He and Burke are getting a little big to fit on Santa's knee, but they both wanted their turn.

Santa & Burke

They have a free carriage ride on weekend nights so we waited a long time to ride the carriage. It was so fun! The kids loved it, especially Charlie the horse. This is Rick, Burke, Brax & Ashton.

Ellie, Me, and Brad

No More Tonsils
Ashton got his tonsils out this morning. This was a first for him and our family. He is the first child to have any surgery in our family and this won't be the last for him. He has to have reconstructive ear surgery on the 29th so this was just a starter for him. Anyway, he had his tonsils and adenoids removed and everything went well. Waking up was awful, but now he is on the mend and happy!
He looked so stinking cute in his hospital garb! They gave him this little lion and he held it until he went to surgery and as soon as he woke up and his is still holding at home watching cartoons! I was so proud of him because he was so brave and excited for this surgery. That quickly changed when he was coming out of the anesthetic, and now he knows what to expect in 3 weeks, but he was such a trooper! I love Ash to pieces and am glad we have one surgery down!

Artwork??
One day Ellie had a friend over and they were playing in the basement. I was upstairs and Ashton poked his head around the corner this is what I saw. Ellie and her friend had gotten out acryllic paint and this was the result. I was laughing so hard! He looked so strange to have his whole face colored. Good times, good times!

FHE Up the Canyon
Could I love my kids anymore? I just love this picture of my five loves!

This was only a week after Brax broke his arm so he was a little on the low down. He had a rough go of things for about a week with his break which was a darn good one, if that is the right term.

Burke's usual happiness at being in the outdoors.

Ashton with pumpkin cookies. They were the treat for the night and they were super yummy.

HALLOWEEN FUN!!
We had lots of Halloween fun this year. It started with our annual Christianson party. This is all of us on our way to Mandi's house for the festivities.
I had to document Ricky and I in our costumes and Brad didn't want to be left out!

Me and Mandi waiting for the fun to begin.

Brigham workin' it.

This was one of my favorite pics of the night. Josie just hopped right up there between her two uncle's and was happy as a clam.

Mandi & Josie

Brad & Zac

Tyler & Mason

The boys.

The darling girls!

Cookie decorating.

Pinata fun to celebrate Josie's birthday.